Direct Wheelchair to Shopping Cart Attachment

Gary arrives at a grocery store in his own wheelchair and wants to buy more items than will fit on his lap without sliding off. He finds juggling pushing a shopping cart and his wheelchair to be a bit challenging. He would like to be able to connect his wheelchair directly to the cart and only has to negotiate pushing his wheelchair.

Analysis:

Questions:

1) Is Gary able to navigate a cart that is directly connected to his wheelchair?

First, I (Alice) wanted to know if Gary’s Quickie GPV can actually be connected directly to a shopping cart. So, I borrowed a shopping cart from La Montanita Co-Op Market.

Question 1) Is Gary able to navigate a cart that is directly connected to his wheelchair?

It looks like the front caster wheels of Gary’s wheelchair fit nicely between the back wheels of the shopping cart. Once attached, Gary was indeed able to push the wheelchair/cart ensemble around on tile and concrete surfaces. Here we attached the front forks (FF) of the wheelchair to the rear cart bar (RCB) of the shopping cart.

2) What are the similarities and differences between the carts Gary will use (in Albuquerque)?

We’ll take a small sampling of carts around Albuquerque and measure the relevant dimensions (distance between the cart’s rear wheel mounts, distance from the back of the rear wheels of the shopping cart to the rear cart bar (RCB), height, width/length and diameter of the RCB)

3) What are the types of (wheelchair- and cart-side) attachments that are appropriate for use by someone with Gary’s abilities?

Although Gary has limited hand dexterity, he told us that a semi-permanent (detachable by a friend or caretaker) attachment to his wheelchair is acceptable.

Note that additional questions may arise as we iterate between brain-storming, fabrication, testing, and questions/comments from subscribers.As we post prototypes, feel free to fabricate it for yourself. However, please use at your own discretion. Our responsibilities for this device is to Gary for whom this custom device is specifically designed.

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